Emails Reveal Steve Bannon’s Role in Efforts to Rehabilitate Jeffrey Epstein’s Image

Newly disclosed emails and related records reveal a closer, more strategic relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Steve Bannon in 2018–2019 as Epstein faced renewed scrutiny. The correspondence — part of a trove of more than 20,000 messages released by Congress and set to overlap with documents made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act — shows private coordination aimed at managing Epstein’s public image and limiting political exposure.

Bannon, a former campaign chair and White House adviser who later faced legal consequences tied to defying congressional subpoenas, has not been accused of crimes connected to Epstein. Still, the exchanges show the two men traded hundreds of messages while Epstein confronted mounting allegations and legal pressure.

Several messages describe efforts to avoid public attention. Epstein wrote that he was in New York and suggested a discreet meeting:

"Btw Im in New York tonite thru sat, if you want to visit under the cover of darkness or breakfast tomorrow if you like."

Bannon responded by asking about "access that's not the front door" because of "24/7 surveillance," and Epstein offered a hidden "rear entrance" and someone who would admit visitors. Reporting has linked those messages to Bannon's phone number.

The emails also capture explicit discussion of reputation repair. Epstein described meeting with self-identified "Christians" who felt the media portrayed him "as beyond redemption," calling that portrayal "deeply troubling and offensive." Bannon replied with a blunt media strategy that acknowledged the central challenge:

"Yes yes yes of course — but we must counter 'rapist who traffics in female children to be raped by worlds most powerful, richest men' — that can't be redeemed — that why we let them blow up the argument while showing the 12 you redeemed. Can't redeem unredeemable — — you are a lot of things — which we will show — but you are NOT that."

Survivors' accounts and extensive evidence contradict any attempt to minimize or recharacterize those allegations.

The relationship extended beyond email. Bannon reportedly recorded roughly 15 hours of footage he described as a documentary about Epstein, titled The Monsters: Epstein’s Life Among the Global Elite, which was not publicly released. A 2021 trailer from the project shows Epstein asserting support for certain accountability movements, and the material demonstrates how media appearances and messaging were coordinated between them.

Other exchanges reveal that attempts to influence coverage sometimes backfired. Epstein and Bannon discussed journalist Michael Wolff, and Epstein later acknowledged Wolff’s book had increased attention to allegations:

"I have now seen some of Wolffs book. Mentions me and underage prostitutes. You as the 'man behind and in front of the curtain.' Lots of Steve quotes. Lots."

Bannon replied, "Ugh — anything awful??? Wish he hadn't done that — why are u mentioned @ all?"

By 2019, Epstein and his legal team plainly recognized the situation was deteriorating. In one message, Epstein boasted about his ties to political figures, writing, "Now you can understand why Trump wakes up in the middle of the night sweating when he hears you and I are friends." Whether that claim reflected real leverage or self-aggrandizement, the newly public records underscore why the continued release of files tied to Epstein's investigation keeps producing revelations about his connections to powerful people.

These emails illuminate how two high-profile figures discussed access, media strategy and reputation management while allegations and legal pressure mounted. The correspondence raises broader questions about influence, accountability and the private networks that surrounded Epstein.

Reporting and sourcing: The emails were reviewed alongside public reporting that connected specific messages to known phone numbers and published accounts. Ari Melber wrote the original piece; Allison Detzel contributed reporting.